Cryogonal Discussion Thread

Meh...i'm really bored and honestly want to highlight some of the lesser-used pokemon (UU/RU fighters mostly) since that is the tier I tend to hang out in. So let's start with my favorite design from Generation V, Cryogonal.

ahh yes, the huge snowflake that could. In my opinion he is the best out of the three pure Ice Types from Generation V, although considering the status of them all that is sadly not saying much since they are all now regulated in the RU tier at the moment. Of the three though Cryogonal has the most potential if you work with it, because it has one thing the other two do not have, good speed and phenomenal special defense.

So here is the tale of the tape!

BASE STATS

Type: Ice

HP: 70
ATK: 50
DEF: 30
SPA: 95
SPD: 135
SPE: 105

Ability: Levitate

From the looks of it, the snowflake is just that, frail and weak with a horrific 30 DEF and pretty pitiful 70 HP, only allowing a max of 344. It's biggest strengths are in the Special department: base 95 SPA is not too shabby, and it's speed at base 105 is among the higher tiers, roughly 337 when maxed out via IV's and Nature.

It's biggest asset is the 135 Special Defense, which is on par with Blissey as being a Special Tank. While Blissey has the advantage of a huge HP stat, Cryogonal can make use of it's higher special attack and speed stat, striking first and striking hard. Hell, he is one of the few Ice-types that can take some hits from Chandelure's Heat Wave thanks to it, making it a good check for the flaming ghost.

But that is not what were here for. Obviously the best bet is to maximize the chances of Cryogonal taking down opponents with it's speed and avoiding physical attacks. Thankfully, the small but extremely diverse movepool Cryogonal has offers some interesting combinations, making him a perfect wild card this side of Cacturne if used correctly.

This is a set I used while in a Hailstorm. It is a good weather set that takes advantage of Hails accuracy boost and allows a hard hit with blizzard. Flash cannon is a viable move as well since it covers one of Cryogonals big weaknesses; Rock types. HP Electric/Grass can take care of bulky waters if need be, and the fourth move is extra defense, special defense or hazard removal, a good utility tool to have in the snow and in the lower tiers. This makes Cryogonal a strong contender for UU/RU Hail teams, although Mamoswine and Frosslass are probably better suited for the role in some ways.

Basically going all out attack without hail, Protect gives you extra time to avoid setups or use prediction against opponents. Ice shard can actually hit hard due to it being priority, and even take a huge chunk out the Kami trio (all in the OP bracket I believe), breaking focus sash, eliminating substitutes and overall causing major problems against pokemon that can easily take it down. Other offensive weapons include Frost Breath which never misses as well, and Flash Cannon which covers more weaknesses. HP Dark or HP Psychic are used against ghosts like Chandelure, which Cryogonal can actually tank fairly well.

Crystal Defense Set (Note: This set is from Smogon: Credit to user blarajan there since I didn't realize he made it first)

One of several pure defensive sets, Haze eliminates baton passing chains and can stop set ups early on, giving the player an edge in setup and stalling. Rapid spin eliminates hazards, and recover can bring Cryogonal back to life if hit by something like stealth rock when switching in. Finally Ice Beam is standard so it's not the subject to taunt totally.

There are other viable options for Cryogonal as well. Reflect/Light Screen are always popular for defense, along with the use of Acid Armor on a higher Defensive boost set, with a Bold nature and 252 in DEF on the EV spread, it can then, with one Acid Armor gives it a lot more survivability against OHKO moves, just enough to avoid a OHKO and deal some damage with an Ice Beam or eliminate a setup. And of course, Toxic is always nice to use too.

Some other moves to look out for include Sharpen (although it's mostly for a gimmick) and Solarbeam, if you really want to be brazen and use Cryogonal in the sun (which I wouldn't recommend.)

As far as checks and counters go, anything with physical attack, like Terrakion, can pretty much murder the snowflake. That said, a high offensive tanks are Cryogonals best friend, such as Nidoking and Electrivire, making him a good doubles partner.

So yeah, Cryogonal has some tricks up it's frozen sleeve, and while it is at best a niche pokemon, it is a damn good niche to use if done correctly.

Cryognonal is probably my favorite Pokemon in RU right now (and before you say that nobody uses it, Nails, Fried_Rhys, and Zeph all used it on various forms of RU stall - the reason the usage is so low is that those are stats from before people realized how good it was and Cryo's only really good on fullstall).

Anyways, I'd remove literally all of the sets that you posted in the OP, and instead post the offensive spinner (you can find one with better EVs than the one you posted) or the Spec. Defensive Spinner set, which is the set that arguably makes Cryo the best spinner in the RU metagame in terms of how it handles prominent metagame threats (though not the best for matching up with Spinblockers; Kabutops wins that title, but Kabutops kinda sucks outside of rain).

Cryognonal is probably my favorite Pokemon in RU right now (and before you say that nobody uses it, Nails, Fried_Rhys, and Zeph all used it on various forms of RU stall - the reason the usage is so low is that those are stats from before people realized how good it was and Cryo's only really good on fullstall).

Anyways, I'd remove literally all of the sets that you posted in the OP, and instead post the offensive spinner (you can find one with better EVs than the one you posted) or the Spec. Defensive Spinner set, which is the set that arguably makes Cryo the best spinner in the RU metagame in terms of how it handles prominent metagame threats (though not the best for matching up with Spinblockers; Kabutops wins that title, but Kabutops kinda sucks outside of rain).

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I almost put the offensive spinner set on top, but it was a set I never used yet on him personally, and looking at the trends for some of these discussion threads, figured someone else would contribute that eventually. I am sure smogon has a offensive spinner out there somewhere, feel free to add it though.

I could change it, because I have had some good success with the offensive hits, but the big problem with them is that it is more tailored for the RU environment and it needs help or setup from it's teammates.

Yes, Cryogonal has a good movepool, and ok statuses. But hes just used not very much due to its rarity. And, i not really like its shiny form. I mean, only its mustache or whatever it is is red. Better its darker, like Garchomp.

Cyogonal is pretty chill, love his design, decent movepool, that defense just ruins him though. I don't play lower tiers but i would think he'd do pretty well in the lower tiers, even with his poke-me-and-i-die defense

Literally. Anyway, Cryogonial is one of the best RU pokes imo. He is really fast, has really nice Sp. Def and good Sp. Atk, and has a decent movepool. If he was a different type, like say Water, he would definitely be at least UU.

Yep we should ban baton pass, and weather too. Oh and Trick Room, I'm tired of having to worry about Trick Room all the time. Just ban the move Trick Room, and prankster, it's broken. Ban all status moves on prankster users, they're too cheap. Oh and ban Probopass to it's so cheap. Just ban everything except Magikarp with splash.

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Well, actually Blaziken isn't really Uber because some people whined about how they were getting owned by it. I mean, it doesn't stand a chance in the Uber enviroment.

Yeah it takes physical hits about as well as the average Blue Harvest. =[

(jk you know i love you bh!!!!!)

But yeah that doesn't really matter because it doesn't need to take physical hits. 252 HP / 252 SpDef walls so many main special attacks in RU that it's not even funny, and you can't even boost up against it because of haze.

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